Date of Birth: 24 August 1986
Detained Since: 4 July 2018
Affiliation: No formal political affiliation; prosecuted in connection with the 2018 Ganja case involving Yunis Safarov

Charges:

• Attempted aggravated murder (Arts. 29, 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7 and 120.2.11)
• Preparation for terrorism (Arts. 28, 214.2.1, 214.2.3 and 214.2.6)
• Terrorism (Arts. 214.2.1, 214.2.3 and 214.2.6)
• Public calls for terrorism (Art. 214-2)
• Illegal possession and related handling of weapons, ammunition and explosives by an organized group (Art. 228.3)
• Preparation for an attack on the life of a state or public figure (Arts. 28 and 277)
• Attack on the life of a state or public figure (Art. 277)
• Forcible seizure or retention of state power or alteration of the constitutional order (Art. 278)
• Forcible alteration of the constitutional order on grounds of religious hostility, radicalism or fanaticism (Art. 278.2)
• Participation in attacks by an illegal armed formation or group resulting in grave consequences (Art. 279.3)
• Public calls directed against the State on instructions of foreign organizations or their representatives (Art. 281.3)
• Illegal border crossing (Art. 318.2)
• Forgery or unlawful production of official documents (Art. 320.1)
• Knowing use of a forged document (Art. 320.2)

Conviction and Sentence:

On 16 August 2021, the Baku Assize Court found Mahir Azizov guilty and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment, with the first five years to be served in prison and the remainder in a strict-regime penitentiary institution. The Baku Court of Appeal upheld the sentence on 15 April 2022.

Political Prisoner Status:

His imprisonment meets criteria (c) and (e) of PACE Resolution 1900 (2012):

• (c) The 20-year sentence appears clearly disproportionate to the conduct individually and reliably established against him, particularly as he was not shown to have directly participated in Safarov’s attack.
• (e) The proceedings were affected by serious fair-trial deficiencies, including allegations of torture, coerced statements and fabricated evidence, restrictions on effective defence, rejected defence motions, unresolved evidentiary contradictions and insufficient individualization of criminal responsibility.

Summary:

Mahir Azizov is an Azerbaijani citizen who worked as a salesperson and had no previous convictions. He was detained on 4 July 2018, one day after Yunis Safarov shot the then head of the Ganja City Executive Authority, Elmar Valiyev. Although Azizov was not alleged to have personally participated in the shooting, the authorities prosecuted him as part of a broader alleged organized terrorist and anti-State conspiracy involving Safarov and other defendants.

Azizov denied all accusations and alleged that officers beat him after his arrest and forced him to sign incriminating statements. He also alleged that a grenade presented as evidence had been planted in a wardrobe beside his three-year-old son’s bed and that he was threatened regarding his wife and children. Independent reporting on the wider Ganja cases documented allegations of systematic torture, coerced confessions and serious fair-trial violations.

Serious concerns arose over the reliability of the evidence and fairness of the proceedings. Azizov’s chosen lawyer was initially excluded, numerous defence motions were rejected, and important contradictions were not adequately addressed. Safarov himself denied discussing with Azizov any plan to overthrow the government or establish a Sharia-based State. Nevertheless, the court accepted the prosecution’s broader organized-conspiracy theory and imposed a 20-year sentence.

Mr. Azizov’s case is regarded as part of the broader pattern of politically instrumental prosecutions arising from the 2018 Ganja events. His association and communications with Safarov were used to attribute to him responsibility for an extensive alleged terrorist conspiracy despite significant concerns regarding coercion, disputed evidence and the lack of sufficiently individualized proof. Azerbaijani human-rights defenders continue to list Mahir Azizov as a political prisoner.

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